Perhaps some people may be thinking that we also give talks, and that fulfills the obligation of Tableegh. Just as I am giving this talk, I know the reality of the speech. No one just goes to a place and start giving a talk. One has to place a request, and then face a trail of excuses; sometimes it is a headache, sometimes the nose is hurting. I say that these excuses may be acceptable for a long speech, but what hindrance does a headache have with saying two statements (so that one can say a couple of sentences informing of deen, hence fulfilling the obligation)?

My complaint is with this attitude. Those who are categorized as religious and see their daily (five time) prayers to be an obligation, do they even consider this (Tawasee bil haqq) tableegh to be as necessary as well? Definitely no! If one misses an obligatory prayer, one would feel regretful, but if one misses an opportunity of doing tableegh he will not feel any remorse. Think honestly, has it ever happened that you felt regret for not advising your wife? Or, did you ever feel regret when you found your friend in a non-Shar’i condition, and you did not advise him? Never!

And if once in a while by coincidence one does advise someone, then instead of being thankful to Allah for providing an opportunity to fulfill an obligation after a long time, one feels proud of it, as though he accomplished a very big task. This is just like one who feels proud of standing vigil on the night of Qadr, but doesn’t feel the same after praying Dhuhr (noon prayer). No one feels proud after eating; then why feel so proud after advising someone? The secret is the same. They consider praying Dhuhur as an obligation, and fulfillment of an obligation is not considered a big task, while they do not consider Tawaseeh bil haqq to bean obligation. They consider it as an extra deed, which is why if they somehow get a chance to do it, they feel proud of it.

If they had considered it an obligation then they would not seek pride from it, instead they would feel that this tableegh was a responsibility. (He would then know that) the way we feel the remorse for not praying our obligatory prayers, we should also feel the regret for not being able to do Tawaseeh bil haqq for two days. So, this is just like a person who doesn’t pray Ishaa (night prayer) and then considers himself a regular Musalli (one who prays). No one will consider him a regular musalli. Then how can one feel religious while forgoing ones obligation in Tableegh? Understand it well, without tableegh you cannot be religious.